As a child with my diagnosis, Verbal Apraxia, speaking didn’t come naturally. In addition to that, reading, writing, and spelling didn’t come naturally to me also. In some, if not most cases of Apraxia- it is often children will also have difficulties with those as well.
My Experience Growing up.
I grew up being behind on reading. I would often look at words and attempt to pronounce them. However, I couldn’t pronounce the words yet. I was also unable to make some of the sounds individual letters make.
With this being said, while I couldn’t pronounce the words I was trying to read, I couldn’t comprehend what the word originally was. If I was unable to vocalize what each letter sounded like, I was unable to spell words.
When I would be asked to spell a word, I would write down what in my mind makes sense, or at least, my best guess. On paper, if you asked me to spell the word “delicate,” I may have spelled it like “dpcgute.”
My Teachers Reaction.
My teacher in my second year of schooling knew I had trouble with these areas due to Apraxia. However, this doesn’t mean he treated me. Due to the lack of him being a better person, this resulted in him yelling at me in the classroom setting. I didn’t understand at this age why what I was writing wasn’t close to correct; this resulted in me having anxiety attacks due to the low grades on the paper. At the end of the semester, he stopped putting grades on the papers, due to me having frequent anxiety attacks. Taking the grade off my paper did help reduce anxiety; however, this didn’t replace how the teacher made me feel. I encourage teachers to educate themselves about how Verbal Apraxia can affect reading, writing, and spelling for the child’s best interest. I also encourage the teacher, speech-language pathologist, and parents to work together as a team throughout this process. If your child is experiencing anxiety, you can brainstorm ways to reduce the child’s anxiety as a team.
Treatment that Helped me.
In my experience, what helped me a speech-language pathologist working with me targeting how to pronounce the words I was trying to read. Also, her taking the time to guide me sound out each letter of the word. Through this approach, I learned how to spell words. Methods like this can are known as intensive and explicit letter-sound linkage work with targeted speech and language work. I received this type of speech therapy five times a week, every week, for a forty-five minute a session. The method we took specifically can otherwise be known as the phonics-based approach; I started making remarkable progress once this approach was taken. I started being able to read, write, and spell in my third-grade year of schooling.
A note about Comorbidities.
The presence of two or more disorders in a child is common for individuals with a diagnosis of Verbal Apraxia. With this being said, I encourage a full evaluation to be conducted to rule out any other concerns. One common comorbidity, for example, is Dyslexia that could interfere with the individual’s ability to read and write. However, this is just one possible comorbidity. A full evaluation will help the person to make maximum success. Parents have the right to request a learning evaluation through the school. Also, parents can have one done by a private entity. I was evaluated by a school psychologist and also speech-language pathologist.